HOEC Readies New Drilling Plan For Cauvery Asset

India’s Hindustan Oil Exploration Co. Ltd. (HOEC) is preparing to launch a new drilling campaign in the PY-1 Field, located in the Bay of Bengal’s Cauvery Basin, to increase oil and gas production.

“The proposed project entails drilling eight additional development wells and connecting them to the existing unmanned platform and subsea pipeline to offset the decline in production in the PY-1 Field,” HOEC said in a pre-feasibility report.

Launched in 2009, the PY-1 Field is producing about 1.6 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscf/d) of gas from three wells. The amount is down from about 20 MMscf/d in 2011 due to accelerated pressure decline and water breakthrough in existing wells.

PY-1 is spread across 75 sq km (29 sq miles) in water depths that range from 40 m to 250 m (131 ft to 820 ft) in the Bay of Bengal, about 18 km (11 miles) from Port Novo on Tamil Nadu coast.